5 Non-Stop Trends for Teachers in 2015

With the new year underway we wanted to take a minute and focus on five of the main edtech trends that will take over our year.

There have been many trends that have already crept into some classrooms, but 2015 should be the start of full adoption. Here are some of our main trends that will catch fire.

1. Wearable Technology in the Classroom

Just recently technology industry leaders have all anounced their plans to enter the wearable market including the top dogs Apple and Microsoft.

In Apple's most recent press release they stated, "Developers can create notifications that allow users to take action or respond right from their wrist... Apple Watch is our most personal device ever, and WatchKit provides the incredible iOS developer community with the tools they need to create exciting new experiences right on your wrist."

You can bet edtech companies are going to be innovating with this new technology.

This may be the tipping point for BYOD's at schools. It will get increasingly more difficult to ban all forms of devices rather than embracing the tools in the classroom.

2. Online Learning Courses will increase in 2015

If you haven't heard of MOOC's (Massive Open Online Courses) then you haven't fully embraced the new digital world we live in. Online learning has never been easier, and there are companies created daily for this purpose.

2014 was the year of massive gains for online learning and 2015 will be even larger. Expect to see an emphasis on foreign learning with outreach to countries and students around the world.

One company that looks to gain some exposure this year is the ever-growing French company "digiSchool" who will try to offset the likes of US leaders Khan Academy, Coursera, and others.

3. Gamification and Personalized Teaching

As schools implement different forms of technology in the classroom, students have been grasping learning through more interactive, game-based curriculum. Not only this, but teaching software that has some sort of achievement or badge system has shown great response in 2014 from teachers.

The point of gamification is to introduce training and learning in a different way and to encourage additional education through a fun medium.

TalentLMS recently held a study into this topic and found that, "Almost 80% of the learners say that they would be more productive if their university/institution or work was more game-like."

4. Flipped classroom

Learning outside of the classroom continues to expand with MOOC's and online courses such as Khan Academy. Companies appear daily offering more resources and teachers are making their lesson plans available easily through wikis and classroom landing pages.

The early education landscape continues to transform into the outside learning and classroom lab feel that higher education offers. This in a way could prepare students for their future in even far greater ways than the new nationalized standards. Developing a mindset for students to search for answers and solutions is a skill that until recently was not taught fully by educators.

5. Automated tools for teachers

When teachers have more time to help their students grasp concepts they will see greater overall improvement. Tools such as IFTTT and built in features in learning management system can help teachers quickly prepare their day or even automate grading and attendance.

Many teachers have been using a product called SAGrader which will grade papers based on knowledge gained about specific topics and will even give feedback to students. This technical tool scans through documents and looks for key concepts that have been input by the teacher. The software also uses"artificial intelligence strategies to measure the student's ability to accurately identify, explain and organize the required knowledge."